Incidence and Consequences of Teenage Pregnancy Among Adolescents in Ogunu Community in Warri South Local Government Area Warri, Delta State
Chapter One
Objectives of the Study
The major objective of this study is to determine the incidence and consequences of teenage pregnancy among teenage girls in Warri L.G.A. Delta state.
The specific objectives are to:
- determine the consequences of early child birth caused by teenage pregnancy.
- determine the extent to which parenting cause a setback to teenagers’ education.
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
THE CONCEPT OF PREGNANCY
Hildebrand (1997) defined pregnancy as being a father or a mother. Jay and John (1994) stated becoming a parent is marked by a series of changes in the life of a mother or a father. It has been suggested that parenting is the hardest job any person will ever have. Becoming a parent means our lives are changing and we must prepare for changes. These changes can be both wonderful and challenging some of the positive aspects of a child’s entrance into a family can include:
Uniqueness of a child: Babies are special and unique. Parents can learn to enjoy each new word, little step or cute expression.
Dimensions of love: the birth of a child offers parents a whole new experience in love that can be deep and powerful
Feelings about oneself: Many parents come to feel more mature and responsible with a child’s successfully raising a child is a source of accomplishment and meaning
Sense of family: Children often help create a new sense of family connection between family members
Personal growth: Pregnancy provides the opportunity to guide, teach and pass on values to the next generation
Closeness to parents: Having a child may help new parents understand their own parents love and perspectives.
In addition, there can be some changes which require one to assume more of the responsibilities of adulthood. These might include being financially responsible, providing direct care for your child, changing some of your social involvement and balancing parenting and work demands. Becoming a parent involves taking on a new role in life. Taking the time to understand the changes that occur in your life with becoming a parent and how to prepare yourself for pregnancy can ease the stresses that come with being a parent. As with any journey, knowing where you’d like to end up and how you’d like to perform in your new role as a parent will help to determine the route you take and the preparations you make to succeed.
The Concept of Parenting
Parenting is the process of caring for children and helping them grow and develop. Good parents use skills, plus lots of time, energy, patience and understanding to raise children who are responsible members of the society. Having children can be a challenge to even the most dedicated and loving parents. Parents must provide for all their children’s need. This means not only their physical need’s of food, water, clothing, shelter and safety but also their intellectual, emotional, social and moral needs. (Sasse, 1997). Parenting is the process of promoting and supporting the physical, emotional, social and intellectual development of a child from infancy to adulthood. Parenting refers to the activity of raising a child rather than the biological relationship. In case of humans, it is usually done by the biological parents of a child, although governments and society take a role as well. In many cases, orphaned or abandoned children receive parental care from non-parent blood relation. Others may be adopted, raised by foster care, or be placed in an orphanage.
Usually, parental figures provide for a child’s physical needs, protect them from harm and impart in them skills and cultural values until they reach legal adulthood, usually after adolescence (Jay and John 1994). Minett (1994) noted that, before a baby is conceived, it is important that both parents want a baby. They should be matured enough to care for the child, financially able to support a child and should have a home in which the child can be brought up.
According to Frieze (1987) having a child may be viewed as a source of renewal. This means that the birth of a child plunges the parents into a process of growth and change that can be a major source of enrichment. Frieze further stated that the mother is the one primarily responsible for supplying physical and emotional care of the infants and young children. Olson and Defrain (2000) believed that a parent’s job is to give a child both ‘roots’ and ‘wings.’ This is not an easy task. Rearing children may indeed be life’s greatest mixed blessings. It is full of good times, bad times, frustration, challenges and elating successes.
Olson and Defrain (2000) pointed out that pregnancy is not something that happens gradually, the 9 months of a normal pregnancy should give prospective parents time to think about pregnancy and to plan for the arrival of the baby, but many parents are unprepared for the challenges that will confront them when the infant arrives. They may take classes to prepare for child birth, but few prepare for the responsibilities of parenting itself.
Models of parenting
Jay and John (1994) opined that, there is no single model of parenting. What may be right for one family or one child may not be suitable for another, with authoritative and permissive (indulgent) parenting on opposite sides of the spectrum, most conventional and modern models of parenting fall somewhere in between.
Attachment parenting: seeks to create strong emotional bonds, avoiding physical punishment and accomplishing discipline through interactions recognizing a child’s emotional needs al while focusing on holistic understanding of the child.
Historic development (child as apprentice) skills based model: As a child’s independent capacities emerge, ever more complex opportunities for parental instruction in or modeling of the widest possible number of essential skills and knowledge are presented. The child gains self-worth simultaneous to the emergence of various physical and mental competencies in an ever-growing number of essential venues, as adulthood is approached.
Nurturant parent model: A family model where children are expected to explore their surroundings with protection from their parents.
Single parent model: obstacles which create difficulty for single parents relate primarily to a halving of the numerous resources fundamental to parenting, incomes often reduced dramatically, opportunities to present and process adult male and female roles, responsibilities and skills to children’s reduced, opportunities to see parents display affection and cooperation despite differences is reduced.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY
Research Design
The survey research design was adopted for this study. A survey research design according to Ndagi (1984) involves large number of persons and describe population characteristics by the selection of an unbiased sample. This method is identified by many writers and researchers as good for identifying facts, attitudes and behavioural reports from large sample size. The survey design was used in the present study to reach all the teenage pregnancy that were all scattered in the various schools in the state.
Population for the study
There are 12 Divisions of secondary schools in Delta State. The target population for this study consists of all the teenage pregnancy in the Divisions. The study however concentrated on only the teenage pregnancy that were randomly selected from six Divisions out of the 12 Divisions of the state.
Delta State has a number of 12 divisions, each comprising of number of schools, out of which six divisions was used representing about 50%. This is based on Nwana’s (1981) recommendation. Nwana had suggested that if the total population is few, 40% or more of the samples would do. In order to ensure representativeness, the proportional sampling technique was used. This involve selecting units at random from each division in proportion to the actual size of the group. The selection of subject was by random and purposive sampling technique. The simple random sampling techniques offers each number of the population an equal chance of being selected and purposive sampling techniques involves selection of respondents based on certain operating factors. In this regard, this researcher deliberately selected sample of teenage pregnancy. This allowed for representativeness of the subjects. Table 3.2 below illustrates the stratified sample of respondents from the divisions of the secondary schools in Delta State.
CHAPTER FOUR
PRESENTATION OF DATA, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
Presentation of Data
The data collected from the field are presented below.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Summary
The study was conducted to find out the consequences of early child birth employed by teenage pregnancy in the secondary schools in Delta state. Four specific objectives were clearly stated after stating the major objective of study, these objectives raised four research questions to be answered. Four null hypotheses were also formulated for the study.
Chapter two highlighted, both on conceptual under the sub-topics concept of parenting, concept of child rearing practices and secondly school students, as well as empirical studies, after which a brief summary was given based on chapter one and chapter two.
Chapter three the survey design was used for the study, 382 teenage pregnancy from six Divisions in the study areas were selected, using the random and purposive sampling technique from 2, 658 teenage pregnancy as the target population. A self designed and self administered questionnaire was used for the achievement of the research questions and hypotheses. The data was analysed using percentages, frequencies as well as the chi-square statistical tools. The findings are:
- The study found that most teenage pregnancy performed their parenting responsibilities by taking care of their children, washing and feeding them, as well as, taking the child to the hospital when the child is sick.
- It was also found that most teenage pregnancy employed the help of nannies and sister-inlaws to care for their children.
- Coupled with taking care of their children, the teenage pregnancy do all their household chores by themselves as such they rarely have time to play with their children only when the child cries.
- Those teenage pregnancy that cannot afford employing nannies in their homes, take their children to women at neighbourhood that offer their services of taking care of children, while their mothers are away and most cases when they returned, they found their children untidy and unkept.
- Most of these teenage pregnancy attended schools far away from their homes which resulted in their being late to school in most cases.
- Majority of these teenage pregnancy only have time for studying only before examinations, because they did their household chores all alone.
- Majority have difficulty with homework and assignments when at home, and they only ask their friends and neighbours for assistance, as such this makes them to feel unsatisfactorily about their performance at school.
- Most of these teenage pregnancy’ children play with their books or tear it for them, and thus can result in their missing some vital parts of their notes.
Conclusion
Majority of the teenage pregnancy performed their parenting roles of providing the physical need of their children. In addition, they performed all their household chores alone. Also, the teenage pregnancy employed various dangers like the employment of nannies, asking sister-inlaws to care for their children while they were away at school. Majority of these teenage pregnancy only have time for studying before the examinations, they often were late to school and mostly had difficulties with their home works and assignments.
Limitation of the study
Most of these teenagers are too young and shy (especially those in mixed schools) to admit that they are married and even with children.
Most felt that it is a personal issue and were not comfortable discussing their affairs and some even felt its no ones business how they handle their children. Again, most were afraid especially those in junior secondary school thinking that, they might have broken some school rules and regulations or they were not expected to be married at that age and so liable to be punished or dismissed.
However, these limitations was resolved by the method of sampling used and also the used of trained assistants.
Recommendations
Based on the findings of this study, the following recommendations are made:
- All schools should create a guidance and counseling unit or if there is one should include certain issues for the teenagers on how to adjust to school performance as well as adjusting to their household chores.
- The school management may also put forward request or suggestion to be included in the curriculum that can benefit such students as well as providing the schools with textbooks that can benefit the teenage pregnancy.
- The spouses of the teenage pregnancy should employ the assistance of their family members, to help lessen the burden on teenage pregnancy, by assisting them in taking care of the children while they are busy or while the children are unwell and allowing the younger ones in the family to help with household chores whenever possible.
- Teenagers should form the habit of spending some few hours for studies or make a time table, so that they can study while at home.
- The school authority can organize workshops and counseling sessions from time to time, so that they can counsel students on how to develop good study habits.
- Curriculum planners should include the knowledge of sex education and family planning right from primary six, so that those that were married early in life, can learn to plan and wait until they have spent some years in marriage, by then they might have adapted properly to their academic responsbilities.
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